Newly crowned No.1 reaps reward of choosing right court

Date: January 25 2013

Linda Pearce

NICK Kyrgios describes himself as an emotional mix of Greek father (Christos) and Malaysian mother (Norlaila), with a dual sporting background (tennis, basketball), and a trio of influences (Mark Philippoussis as proof Greek-Australian kids can play tennis, Roger Federer as an admirable example for all, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the explosive game style on which to model his own).

Kyrgios, 17, is the newly crowned top-ranked junior in the world and, as the third seed in the Australian Open boys event, preceded his good friend Thanasi Kokkinakis into the semi-finals on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-1 belting of Wayne Montgomery. Kokkinakis arrived almost three hours later, a 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 8-6 winner against second seed Gianluigi Quinzi.

So the possibility of the first all-Australian final since Ben Ellwood beat Andrew Ilie in 1994 beckons, Kyrgios having first flagged the prospect after the pair's respective quarter-final victories.

''I definitely think Thanasi's got by far one of the best games in the juniors as well,'' Kyrgios said. ''He's transitioned really well in the men's game and he's got a world-class forehand, so if he plays well and I play well, that's definitely going to be the match-up in the final, I think.''

Kyrgios is a year older than his doubles partner and has the higher junior profile; a few years ago he also had a choice to make between his two sporting loves.

As is so often the case, it came to a one-or-the-other decision when the elite level - in this case, state - was reached in both.

''I guess I was around 13, 14, because you get injured a lot in basketball, I guess, and that was going to keep me out of tennis and I was a fair bit better at tennis, I thought, at the time,'' Kyrgios said.

''So I thought I'd just give everything, give all my dedication to that and see how it goes, and it's obviously paid off a fair bit.''

He won the French Open and Wimbledon boys' doubles titles last year with Andrew Harris, but this is Kyrgios's first time past the singles quarter-finals at a major. His mindset is changing; expectations rising.

''Now me being No.1 in the world I'm probably the guy who's going to look to go further this time,'' he said, before Friday's semi-final against Italian eighth seed Filippo Baldi. ''I've got a lot more confidence now.''

His Greek-Malaysian background has contributed to what he quips is ''a bit of a weird mix, but I guess I'm pretty unique. I have a lot of emotions out there, but it's always exciting, I guess, when I'm playing''.

''Philippoussis … was Greek, so obviously some Greeks can play tennis, Thanasi Kokkinakis as well … I was obviously aware of [Philippoussis] growing up; he was one of Australia's best at the time … big serve, big game,'' he said. ''But if I had to model my game around someone it would probably be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.''